Process of making a label



Dec. v8, 1953 c. ANDREW A 0 d y f L Patented Dec. 8, 1953 G de Andr wGre ar Blue Bell, Inca, qreensborgN.

of North Carolina ressures ernliqatiqn vacate 1, 50 r el NQ- A -3495(o1. s ns) 6 cla m 'tlthenr ent invent ni tes .1 nei 'a.t m.- n oved ocs f r I .Qdil ine a abel 1.1 19 1 W11 ave pa t cu ar uti ty in .cqnne in it s ments. I

.Itis customa y to s w lab ls on arments ;or art cl o t i to "desc ibsourc ailm eti it e ign y ng, cons u i n wo m ship. tc- C n types o rued ga ment s For exa e l an erflllsrid n ha san we tern bS req i e surdy la ls e c al w e t e arment a to e laun e ed .0 ire uent y a edortha 'nu nqse' h b en cu tomar t p vil'abels. al ;Qf,lea .sin t eseplen'dflec with thei i td p app a a 9 h rment The e lab ls how r i aqk tesired er ab i heqal e Qfthe fii s t e lffifi wa er de e ent and nem qaqleaning s:t ere nf niaupqe ia an q1 ani ,an c se Q th Sens tivi t a inw ar fe Moreover, i fl ffi R t 'aPQ Y a lea re t shi s p i t i e i ntese labelsel eh e t r abe s a mQt :be .m un orm 'lduet'o hideoutvariations frorn-peltto pelt andto. chem-- ical deteriorationfrom'lot tolot resulting f n the tanning and other chemicaloperations 't er e-' on.

Anobject of the present invention is to pro.- vide a process which'willproduce a "new and ifnprov ed label which is-durable andresistant-to the action of water; detergents and chemical cleaningfluids, which can eflfectively withstand aging, weathering and sunlight,which has high color stability, which permanently retains printingand/or design'm'atter thereon, whichlends itself to uniform manufactureas to physical properties, appearance, size andshapa-and which, comparedwith leather-labels, is inexpensive to make.

In accordance with; certain aspects ofthe present invention, the bases'heet of the label-'isf nade in essence 'of synthetic resin of thethermoplastictype, and more specifically offa *resin of the vinylfamily. A-suitable vinylplastic-fprtlie purpose is vinyl chloride, vinylacetate or; viny1 chloride-vinyl acetate copolyiner, compounded for theattainment of 3 the necessary ;resi1iency, flexibility and-toughness. vs f One difificulty withvinyl plastics isthe fact that-they do not lendthemselves satisfactorily to conventional label printing processes.qolo're applying or printing processes commonly -employecl connectionwith papen textiles and plastic-would not-produce the dull adheringcolor patterns on vinyl plastic necessary to meetthestanda'rdof-legibility andpermanency. Imprintingaon vinyl plastics by=oommon-1y knowri processes producesdepositsofxlcolor without strong 7bond or -ss1 1 esgqn and subject toremoval by the sli gh st ahrasive acttherwithl Moreover. Wash ng and*cleanmg with hniical "fluids removes t en printabatteins dr e'signs applied by theseknown -nfethods'." T

' In I co; dancevvith the present invention, the impr nting of he resmbase sheet Zof the label is effected by applying a; solvent to the sheetto partially" liquef its-senate: While the surface i s'in this part llefid s'tatejprinting is applied ther'on thermoplastic resin of theeneralcharacter of the liase resm material .ofthe stock or' sheet butEofIitaihiifIg the necessary printing dye or pigjfne'rit. a result, theprinted layer and the base-stock bgecome' united into a single orintegrated whale.

As another fe'atu're;- the base sheet and the ap- 1ie prme1ayerare sulijedtedto -heat' 'an'd Ipressiire' to decorative'ly em-b 's's the printedsurface oftheresulting-ilabeli Various. otheriobjcts, features andadvantages of the invention will beapparent =-rom the i'ollo'vvin' g-pa'tticlular description and from .an .inspection -'-'of the:a'cc'ompa'nying -.drawings, .in which? Figured =is a-face viewofaalabel embodying-the present 1 invention and' rnade' accordance .iviththe process of the present invention; and

I Figure -&2 is' agcross section aof' -athe label, ;taken on -li1ie':2-2 of Eigureifltbutiortalarger scale, Zthe printinglayer-beingsliowh.exaggeratedlin thicknessincomparisonvvithithethicknessxofithe base sheetofthe label.

I In carrying aoutithesprocesszexemplification,of the presnt ainvention;:a'label {stock miadeof :a vinyl iresin desirably zof'ivinyl chloride,:yinyl acetate or zvinyl zchloridevinyll'acetate: .copolymeriscalendered to'tl'iefirequii ed thickness, which fOI'L OIdiIlQIYlabelepurposesa iszpreferably ;=3.0:ito 40 gauge; andImoresnecificallyAOLgaIuge .to produce abase sl'ieet-oriblank' I10..;!1hisviny1resinZis.compounded with theneces'sarpigmentoridyerlubricant, diliiennresin andfillersas.required;;to;attainthe desired propertiestandflappearances. Since theilahelds,desirablylhighlyiflexible. tospermit lit to b8z=fb1d6d swithstheagar-meant, to .yvvhich; it .is to bei-applied,:theJabeLstockcontains,.a ihigh .ipe'rcentage of plasticizer. -'.Altho'ugh the.possibilities of rformulationuare many. ga. typicaliiormulaior thestockmaterialzmaylhe. aslfollows:

{Percehtjoyweight After the label stock has been made to the requiredgauge by calendering or other suitable process, the surface to beprinted is partially liquefied by a solvent. The ketones are desirablefor the purpose. These should have a boiling point low enough so thatresidual traces could be driven off by evaporation at a temperature of160 F. Ethyl methyl ketone is particularly suitable, although otherketones, as for example, acetone, may be used. I

For rendering the surface of the base sheet ID to be printed partiallyliquefied with the solvent, the sheet is exposed to the vapors of thesolvent at an elevated temperature of about 110 F. and the sheet isexposed to the action of the solvent vapor for a period of about onesecond before formulation used, the pigment resin vehicle cor-,

responds to the resin in the base sheet and is vinyl chloride, vinylacetate or vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer. In the specificformulation employed, the pigmented resin is vinyl chloride.

The pigment resin vehicle desirably contains a plasticizer but this neednot be as much as in the base sheet. About 3 per cent of plasticizer inthis resin vehicle is sufficient. A typical formulation for a printingcomposition for a black figure design may, for example, comprise 85 percent of a vinyl resin compounded with the necessary plasticizer andother ingredients and 15 per cent carbon black dispersed therein.

After the surface of the base sheet or blank H] has been exposed to thesolvent vapors for about one second at a temperature of about 110 F. topartially liquefy the surface, thepigmented resin printing compositionis applied by any suitable printing process in any required design orpattern to form a print layer II. This vinyl printing compositioncontaining pigment becomes dissolved in the base resin itself and causesthe base sheet and the print layer II to merge into a single mass ofsubstantially the same constituency.

After the application of the printing and/or design to the dissolvedsurface of the base sheet It], the resulting printed label is subjectedto further heat to a temperature of approximately 160 F. to drive offresidual traces of the solvent. To produce a decorative embossed grainsurface on the label, the label is subjected to heat and pressure. Forthat purpose, after the printing operation described, the printed labelis heated to approximately 265 to 275 F. At this temperature, thesurface material, including the printing resin but not the pigmentdispersed in this resin, is in soft plastic condition. While in thiscondition, the label is passed through the field of action of a pair ofnip rolls adapted to apply a pressure of about 100 pounds to the label.The surface of one of the nip rolls is designed to impart a leatheryembossed pattern to the soft label surface. This pressure action notonly molds the label surface to produce the required cell-like structure!2, but also presses the superposed base sheet lll and print layer Hmore firmly together into a composite unitary structure. The label iscooled after the roll molding operation described and causes theimpressed sur-- face pattern to become a permanent part of the label atnormal temperatures.

formed as a continuous strip, the printing ap plied thereto insuccessive sections, the strip subjected to heat and pressure fordecorative surfacing and the printed strip out between the sucsessiveprints to produce the individual labels.

In the resulting label, the printing pigments, inks or dyes do notmerely adhere to the outer surface of the base sheet but become a partintegrally of the resinous mass. The labels will all be uniform and willhave color and stock stability to home and commercial type launderingtreatments. Moreover, the label will not be subjected .to deteriorationdue to aging or the action of sunlight exposure, since no part of thelabel is of oxidizable character. Also, none of the usual hy- 1drocarbon types of dry cleaning fluids have any effect on the label, sothat these fluids could be used to remove obstinate grease spots whichcannot be completely eliminated by wet solvent methods of cleaning.Moreover, the label can.v

be directly sewn to the garment to which it is to be applied Without theuse of cloth or textile ad-l Furthermore, the label is non-shrinkable incoldv or boiling water containing suds, and no part of this label issoluble in the Washing or cleaning fiuid. Moreover, due to itsthermoplastic characteristics, the label when immersed in boiling sudsassumes such pliability that it exerts no forces damaging to the apparelto which it is sewn.

While the invention has been described withparticular reference to aspecific embodiment, it

is to be understood that it is not to be limited thereto but is to beconstrued broadly and restricted solely to the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

p l. The process of making garment labels and the like comprisingpreliminarily subjecting a surface of a flexible base sheet of vinylresin to an organic solvent of relatively low boiling point in hot vaporform, thereby liquifying the The labels as described may be produced bya 3. The process as defined in claim 1, wherein the solvent vapor is ata temperature of F.

4. The process as defined in claim 1, wherein the base sheet is exposedto the solvent in hot about vapor form for a period of substantially onesecond before printing thereon.

5. The process as defined in claim I, followed by the steps of heatingthe printed sheet to a temperature high enough to render the sheet insoft plastic form and while in this condition subjecting the sheet tocompression between embossing members.

6. The process of making garment labels or the like which comprisesforming a flexible base sheet of a resin of the class consisting ofvinyl chloride, vinyl acetate and vinyl chloride-vinyl acetatecopolymer, preliminarily subjecting a surface of the sheet to an organicsolvent of relatively low boiling point in hotivapor form for a periodof substantially one second, then substantially immediately thereafterprinting upon said surface while the surface is partially liquified witha pigment in a resin vehicle of the class consisting of vinyl chloride,vinyl acetate and vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, whereby saidvehicle dissolves in and integrally unites with the base sheet material.and subjecting the resulting product to heat sufficient to drive ofi theresidual solvent.

CLYDE M. ANDREW.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS I DateNumber Name 1,677,475 Gunnell July 17, 1928 2,013,194 Vaughn Sept. 3,1935 2,351,174 Whitehead June 13, 1944 2,486,259 Chavannes Oct. 25, 19492,561,513 Horback July 24, 1951 2,561,894 Wallich July 24, 1951.

OTHER REFERENCES Printing on VinylFilm, Chester M. Robbins, Rubber Age,Nov. 1946, pages 203-205.

1. THE PROCESS OF MAKING GARMENT LABELS AND THE LIKE COMPRISINGPRELIMINARILY SUBJECTING A SURFACE OF A FLEXIBLE BASE SHEET OF VINYLRESIN TO AN ORGANIC SOLVENT OF RELATIVELY LOW BOILING POINT IN HOT VAPORFORM, THEREBY LIQUIFYING THE IMMEDIATE SURFACE PORTION OF THE SHEET,THEN SUBSTANTIALLY IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER PRINTING UPON SAID SURFACE,WHILE SAID SURFACE IS PARTIALLY LIQUIFIED, WITH AN INK COMPRISING APIGMENT IN A COMPATIBLE VINYL RESIN VEHICLE, WHEREBY SAID VEHICLEDISSOLVED IN AND INTEGRALLY UNITES WITH THE BASE SHEET MATERIAL, ANDTHEREAFTER REMOVING RESIDUAL TRACES OF THE SOLVENT BY DRYING.
 5. THEPROCESS AS DEFINED IN CLAIM 1, FOLLOWED BY THE STEPS OF HEATING THEPRINTED SHEET TO A TEMPERATURE HIGH ENOUGH TO RENDER THE SHEET IN SOFTPLASTIC FORM AND WHILE IN THIS CONDITION SUBJECTING THE SHEET TOCOMPRESSION BETWEEN EMBOSSING MEMBERS.